Alcohol use disorders are thought to result from the disruption of systems that evolved to regulate processes unrelated to alcohol consumption, but critical for survival (i.e. reward, motivation, stress and anxiety). In addition, because alcohol contains calories, systems that evolved to regulate energy balance also likely contribute to the motivation to consume alcohol. Further, the energetic properties of alcohol provide a novel approach to designing therapeutic tools for the treatment of alcohol dependence. I have found that melanin concentrating hormone (MCH), a peptide best known for its orexigenic properties, increases alcohol consumption in rats after central administration. In addition, MCH 1 receptor knock out mice consume less alcohol than wild types. Hence, the MCH 1 receptor is a potential therapeutic target for treating alcohol dependence. The proposed experiments will investigate the role of MCH in the drive to consume alcohol. The specific aims are: 1) To test the hypothesis that MCH is an endogenous factor regulating alcohol consumption and, 2) To test the hypothesis that MCH regulates the motivation to consume alcohol by modulating its reward properties. [unreadable] [unreadable]